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Published
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University of Helsinki
Social identity and intergroup relations: From theory to practice
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5 cr
In psychology, prejudice and conflicts between ethnic groups have traditionally been explained by intraindividual psychological factors such as authoritarian personality types, seductive leaders or deficiencies in individuals' information processing. However, these perspectives have difficulty explaining the enormous flexibility and "inconsistency" that characterize human behavior and what is classified as prejudice in the first place. How is it, for example, that large crowds can be mobilized for war and genocide, that the leader's charisma alone is not enough, or that our categorizations of people into different groups depend on and shift according to context? The course discusses how our real and imaginary group memberships define us (e.g. the self, stereotypes, prejudices), shape our relationships and conflicts with other people ("us and them") and mobilize us to action (e.g. via leadership and ideology). The focus is on theories of social identity and social categorization. Sustainability and responsibility are a core theme: How can relations between groups be improved at both the local level and in international politics?
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Additional information:
Fields
Social sciences
Scope
5 cr
Code
KSV-SP202
Organiser
University of Helsinki
Contact details
uni-help@helsinki.fi